Bright Leaf is the name of a strain of tobacco.[1] It was also the name of a 1949 novel and 1950 feature film about a struggle between two tobacco barons.
The struggle depicted in the feature film, according to McElwee family tradition, parallels one between McElwee's great-grandfather and the patriarch of the Duke family, for whom Duke University is named.[1][4][5]
The documentary follows McElwee's usual style, where he gives voiceovers to apparently spontaneous footage, making the story more personal.[5] According to Roger Ebert:
Bright Leaves is not a documentary about anything in particular. That is its charm. It's a meandering visit by a curious man with a quiet sense of humor, who pokes here and there in his family history and the history of tobacco.[5]
Marian Keane, in her essay "Reflections on Bright Leaves", collected in "Three Documentary Filmmakers", asserts that Bright Leaves displays
McElwee's extraordinary ability to present "people in their uniqueness", contrasting this with other documentaries where people often "seem to exist in the world of film as if suspended from their relation to their actual lives."[1]
Awards and nominations
2004, Gotham Awards nomination for 'Best Documentary'
